


Opposing teams, same side

by Madzie



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: And yeah i have a crush on Magnus Bane if you can't tell by reading this, Canon Compliant, It ends before the episode starts, M/M, Really Freaking Fluffy, The lead up to Alec giving Magnus that gift
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-19
Updated: 2017-02-19
Packaged: 2018-09-25 14:35:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9824810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Madzie/pseuds/Madzie
Summary: “It’s quiet here.”“The most beautiful of things usually are,” Magnus hums in agreement, giving Alec a purposeful once over, effectively making it so it feels as if a whole legion of butterflies are swarming somewhere deep in Alec’s gut.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Fake Title prompt from Anon on [Tumblr](http://ishtarinthesky.tumblr.com/post/157425691679/made-up-fic-title-opposing-teams-same-side)

“It’s quiet here.”

“The most beautiful of things usually are,” Magnus hums in agreement, giving Alec a purposeful once over, effectively making it so it feels as if a whole legion of butterflies are swarming somewhere deep in Alec’s gut.

It’s something Alec isn’t accustomed too—The way someone can slink into his every thought, and make him feel like he was actually levitating on joy. Sure Alec has been attracted to many a men—He’s not unfamiliar to the tug of his stomach when dark eyes from across the bar meet his own, even more so to the indignant pouts for when Alec plays dumb and defends against their intentions, and the feeling of praying that Izzy hadn’t witnessed the interaction from her stance in that particular mission, Needing to be spared her judgmental cluck of the tongue and diatribe of how he deserves to be loved “Heart and Soul.”

In the passing two weeks—Alec might think he’s actually found that. Because this—This man who can make it so chills run down Alec’s spine, while a warmth wraps around his heart, by his smirk alone—This is something utterly knew for Alec. Never before has he experienced what it was like to want to be around someone for nothing else but their mere company—Or what it was like to pass on a routine demon sighting. Once it was all, “This is our purpose in life, why would you not want to obsess over your work?” but now it’s plenty more, “Iz please trade with me, this is the first free hour Magnus has had in days and I swear to god if I don’t tell him yes quick enough that fucking Fairy will be back pretending that he needs another dumb spell but instead try out a bunch of shit one liners on Magnus!” (Izzy always trades with him, but always in the price of her pointedly pinching his cheek and croon about how her big bro was all grown up.) Alec’s never known what it felt like to catch some sort of shiny trinket on the windows of Main Street, and having an insatiable urge to break his bank just to see that brilliant grin that Magnus only gets whenever Alec does something he calls, “Endearing.” To be frank, Alec would do just about anything to see that jaw dropping smile of his. But Alec supposes the one aspect in his life that has seen the most change is his sex prowess.

It use to be quick jerk off sessions in the shower—Just to release any pent-up energy from the day’s tasks, or occasionally in bed when he really just couldn’t go to sleep. But no matter what, they were quick, efficient, concise. Sometimes Alec would picture a pair of the strong, masculine hands of a stranger rather than his own—But that was basically it. He never found any purpose to get too in depth with his fantasies—Juxtaposing Jace who made it a point to describe to Alec his flavor of the week’s every detail. The softness of her hair, to the size of her wrack. Alec always knew which girl from their instructions Jace was sweet on at any moment of time based solely on those all too vivid retellings. 

But now…

Now Alec sees deep brown eyes whenever he shuts his lids, and hears a velvet voice reverberating in his mind—Telling him things—Things that Magnus has maybe alluded to wanting to speak. And when he’s done, panting and red faced—Thoroughly put out—Alec has the decency to be abashed to this new found tendency. For Angel’s sake it must be some form of objectification or of the likes—And Alec definitely doesn’t want to intentionally do anything lie that. He knows what their relationship must look like to the outside—One of the most powerful of all Warlocks, and the other the heir to the royal family of Nephilim in all but name—He knows the painful dichotomy that separates them in ways far more powerful than physicality—But like most things that may try to keep Alec away from Magnus, he doesn’t care.

Alec likes the way Magnus practices ancient Asian battle techniques while training with his magic, (Especially when he does it shirtless and is actually giddy in teaching a reddening Alec some steps—Save for the magic of course.) Alec likes the little, private smirks they toss the other’s way when one of them makes a particularly crass comment that flies right over the intended target’s head. He likes Magnus’s stupidly pretty face, and his muscles that for fucks sake are practically chiseled from fucking stone (Like some sort of modern day David. (Oh fuck, no not some modern day version. For god’s sake, Magnus and Michelangelo were bedfellows! Shit! Alec is dating the fucking statue of David—And as if he weren’t already self conscious enough over their relationship!) But nonetheless, Alec likes just about everything that he’s learned of Magnus, and suspects that he’d like all of him, if Magnus were to ever see Alec as worthy enough to expose himself like that.

And sure it may not be love quite yet—But Alec knows that Magnus is the only person he’s ever made it a point to earnestly apologize to, and the only person who can make him laugh without even thinking about it, and definitely the only person he’d wanna kiss in a room full of the all too intolerable clave members. (Magnus is the one person on earth that Alec would be ecstatic to kiss at anytime and any place.) And yeah—Sure, it might not be love per se—But Alec already knows that it’s headed that way sooner than not—And it’s kind of an amazing feeling if he were to be honest.

“Just this way Alexander.” 

They stop in front of a small creak—The still water reflecting the trees and benches specked around it’s edges, a whole plethora of flower buds sprawled around the sod as if some sort of picture from a fairytale that the Fay love retelling whenever a class of Nephilim youths were instructed to go for a field trip—Much like Mundane children going to the zoo.

“Wow, it’s—It’s.” Alec doesn’t know how to describe it, beautiful seems to blithe of an appraisal—But nor is it as if he’s ever learned how to describe anything—including his own feelings—With any more than the absolute necessary details, rather taught the disciplined staple of orderly conversations and reports—“Vibrant words are for those whom don’t know how to survive Alexander..”

Thankfully, Alec’s sputtering seems enough, because then Magnus tightens his grasp on Alec’s hand and crows his agreement. “I found it with Ragnor back in the 1700s—You two would have gotten on remarkably.” Magnus’s voice slowly adopts a far away quality, as if lost in thought. “He’d always been set in his ways with his books and scrolls…I never told him how grounding it all was. He always thought that whenever I dragged him out to one of my brash adventures it was due to my pitying him…”

Magnus’s voice subdues into something soft, and a bit reticent, withdrawn. And Alec is suddenly thrust back to “Before our first date?” and “I won’t ask again.” The times Magnus was most vulnerable. Alec hadn’t known what to say then, and he fears that now will prove the same. 

But before he can lose himself in a full blown panic attack over the prospect that he’d never be enough for this enigmatic man of all blinding smiles, and a heart so large and deep that he takes it upon himself to take care of all wayward souls—It’s as if Alec’s body puts itself on autopilot. He drapes an arm around Magnus’s broad shoulders, pressing his lips against the other man’s dark head while murmuring assurances that Ragnor knew that Magnus loved him, and that he loved Magnus just as greatly.

It seems to be the right thing to do if the megawatt smile and breathless kiss he gives Alec in return is anything to go by.

“I’m quite fond of you Alexander, do you know that?”

“I hoped as much,” Alec rubs their noses against one another before leading him to one of the little tables surrounding them—Fearing that he might just ravish him right then and there before that pond—On the soft flowerbeds and under the faded starlight .

 

***

 

Alec’s plan to divert from any inappropriate thoughts is proven inadequate when Magnus orders their cups of tea in a perfect Japanese inflection—And damn it how in fuck’s sake is it legal for someone, anyone to be that fucking perfect. 

“I’m not Japanese,” Magnus answers out loud Alec’s unspoken question—And he likes that—Alec likes how Magnus can read him better than probably anyone. Maybe even Jace or Izzy—And he really doesn’t know how that is. (Maybe it’s a Warlock thing. Living for eternity must have it’s perks, like mastering the art of reading people. Alec bets Magnus would be able to rob him blind if they ever played poker—And the fucked part is that he really wouldn’t care.)

“Oh—So ah.”

“Indonesian.”

“Cool—We should go some time, I hear there beaches are really beautiful.”

Magnus tilts his head, the corners of his lips curving up to a small, amused smile. “I’d like that Alexander.”

“Me too—Or—Erm, well I guess you know that considering I suggested it huh?”

Magnus’s laugh rings in Alec’s ears, and he adds it to the growing list of what he would do anything to experience again. (Everything on the list so far relates to Magnus in some way.)

 

***

 

They’re walking down the calm, sea side market of the small Japanese village. A few people are milling around as the sun dips into the horizon, an array of gold and mandarin beams piercing through the cotton candy clouds and frolicking atop the ground, making the cherry blossoms a fiery crown atop the trees, and Magnus’s eyes a consuming molten—Alec may or may not have lost his train of thought from staring into their beautiful depths on a multitude of occasions in the past hour.

“Magnus you’ve gotta think of it from the fish’s perspective!” He sways his free arm around his head in the way that he only does when he’s particularly impassioned over something. He knows it’s something small—Maybe even shallow, but he’s had a few shots, and fuck if the present day’s fish-body shaming culture isn’t something worth his anger.

Alcohol doesn’t really effect Magnus he same way as Alec, (Probably partly because of ~cool warlock magic~ and partly because Alec is a “Light weight,” as Izzy so fondly calls it whenever she drinks him under the table with breeze.) But it doesn’t matter, because Magnus is still listening to him as if Alec is waxing poetic about some sort of ancient phenomenon, and not the sensibilities of ocean creatures.

Fuck does Alec like him—Like A LOT! More than his bow and quiver, and more than the whole god damn institute and more than just about anything else combined! 

Alec doesn’t get the chance to embarrass himself by blurting out that little snippet when a shadowed form suddenly pounces in front of them.

With all his years of shadow hunting training, Alec immediately swats for the blade he keeps in his chest pocket, and moves his stance so that he is also standing before Magnus—So what if he’s probably way capable of taking care of himself, Alec has always protected the people he loves and—Wait—Oh—Oh wow—he loves.

No way he could love Magnus yet—But there it is—Throbbing, bright and impatient—The truth that Alec might just be totally and completely lost on Magnus Bane.

But no, this is not the time for life altering revelations—There is a threat—So he bares his teeth and inches closer to the mystery creature, speaking in his deepest, and most authoritative tone. “What’s your business here,”

“I should really be asking you that Shadowhunter, considering that this is not your turf after all,” she sniffs haughtily—Most definitely not sounding terrified that a world renowned shadowhunter is about to slit her throat.

Alec hears a sigh by Magnus, and then a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Friendly face, if not a bit annoying—Hello Kali.”

The smile she shoots Magnus’s way is all dimples and bright teeth—And Alec kind of regrets acting so impulsively—She’s obviously not a threat. A cute, 16 year old girl who probably likes the taste of strawberry chapstick over anything else. “You know Magnus I heard that you were dating a shadow twink, but I would’ve hoped it was someone a bit more—Well nice when he finally meets your oldest friends. But I suppose when your born beautiful you can get away with plenty, yeah?”

“Kali,” Magnus says with a good amount of chastisement edging his words—He sounds all the formidable warlock that he is.

“Fine, fine—You Americans really do make it a point to get straight to the meat of the conversation, no? ,” she, Kali, shakes her head with a tisk-tisk. “Well you know it’s kinda perfect that I felt your power source so close by!”

“You live in Brazil,” Magnus deadpans.

“Close by plane, or portal it’s all just semantics really.”

“Fine, but it doesn’t matter. If you can’t tell, I am on a date with my very nice boyfriend.” He raises there yet clasped hands as if in proof. Alec tries not to preen to obviously at how Magnus is basically fighting for his honor—He of course fails miserably.

“Pretty please Mags,” Kali pouts with a protruding bottom lip. “I just need help on this one final spell for my preliminary exam before I get my wizarding license—And you did say that you’d help me whenever I’d like!”

He sighs from his nose, as if begrudgingly agreeing with Kali’s accusation—And fuck Magnus Bane for making all other lowly beings look so painfully imperfect with his stupid pretty face, and stupid proclivities to help anyone and everyone in whatever way he can, just because he can. “And why couldn’t you just bring the paper while you were stocking me,” he laments with a pinching to his scrunched nose. Alec thinks it’s really fucking cute.

“Cause Mags! It’s like a lot of shit with a lot of potions and measurements and I still don’t know how to get a claw from a kitty without hurting it!”

“Just go,” Alec interrupts Kali’s tirade before she ends up full on sobbing. 

Magnus’s brows shoot up in shock—As if he were unfamiliar to his date being thoughtful or something. “Alexander, I really don’t want to end our date so early.”

“Neither do I,” Alec assures. “Kali said it’ll only take an hour at max—just leave me here, and when you’re done just portal back and we can finish it off properly.”

“OH yeah totally! Come on Magnus listen to lover boy!” She crows excitedly, a gleam sparkling in her eyes while tugging on Magnus’s arm.

“His name is Alexander—And are you sure?”

“Positive,” Alec kisses him to prove just how much he wants to continue their promenade around the tiny town that’s been tucked away from all prying eyes—Somewhere splendid, and private, and theirs. It’s a chased embrace, something promising for more in the near future—A far cry from the languid moans that Alec would much prefer. 

It seems to do the trick when a surly Magnus mutters to Kali that he has a spare set of cat claws back in his loft, “We can pick it up on our way.”

Alec smirks at the finger guns Kali shoots his direction before leaping into the portal behind Magnus.

 

***

 

It turns out Japan is very cold and lonely without the warmth of Magnus chattering on about anything and everything besides Alec, a fond look on his beautiful face all the while, and nearly everyone’s gazes straying his way—besotted just as much as Alec over his effulgence, and wondering how the hell Alec was able to score a date with someone so…Well magical.

But then again, Alec supposes anywhere from now on will seem dreary when compared to how it feels being within Magnus’s orbit.

Eventually Alec stumbles into a quaint shop on the edge of the main road. The herbal incense and low lit lighting a far cry from the pungent grease and fluorescent bulbs of the 7/11 closest to the Institute. The walls are adorned with various trinkets, and books written in the native Japanese characters—Alec just able to make out what they read from the light literature he was assigned in his youth—Back before he got his runes.

“We are closed,” a shrill voice barks out. Alec winces before coming face to face with a petite Asian woman, hands perched firmly on her hips and a scowl twisting up a face that Alec guesses is ordinarily much more open and welcoming if it were not so late.

“Oh—Ah, ごめんなさい?”

“You’re pronunciation is terrible,” she sniffs before sauntering back to the front of the store where she must be taking inventory. And yeah—Alec totally deserved that—He definitely didn’t sound nearly as smooth or sexy as Magnus when he spoke the language earlier. “Are you American?”

“New Yorker actually,” Alec admits.

“Humph” she eyes him suspiciously, and honest to god the Soul Soared could be replaced by this woman’s withering gaze if the way she makes Alec feel so unnerved is a regular occurrence. 

“Tokyo is about five hours that way,” she informs him gesticulating to the left with a unnervingly sharp pair of scissors.

“I know,” Alec snarks because, yeah he could be a little shit sometimes—And fuck him being afraid of scary scissors ladies. He kills fucking demonic creatures for a living!

“We don’t get much tourists hear. People usually like leaving, not coming through.”

Okay, so Alec puts his crossed arms down, and kind of chills—Scary scissors lady is not that bad. “My date—Ah, he likes it here, and wanted to show me around.”

Scary scissors lady seems to consider his words, glaring at Alec as if he were the soul purpose why there’s war in the middle east, and global warming has ravaged their planet.

“If you’re hear, grab a clip board and start counting.” 

Alec doesn’t need telling twice, besides he’s always appreciated work over any obligatory small talk about the weather.

 

***

 

“So,” Scary scissors lady—Who Alec has finagled into telling him her name is Kimiko, pours them a fresh set of tea. “Where exactly is your date?”

“Ah…Yeah, someone kind of needed his help with an assignment thing—He should actually be back in about ah—“ He sneaks a glance at his watch. “15 minutes.”

“He’s a student?”

“Um, no. More like a teacher.” Alec takes a sip of the tea—It burns his tongue a little, but he keeps on drinking, not wanting to seem rude or as if he didn’t like the jasmine taste.

Kimiko nods approvingly, as if she needed to find Magnus worthy enough for Alec or something—And that kind of makes it so a knot in Alec’s chest loosens, and a flicker of joy over this stranger’s motherly behavior is something wonderful—As if he yet craves that doting on by his own mother—And no, only one revelation allowed per night.

“How long have you been dating this boy?” Kimiko interrogates with a raised brow, as she slowly stirs her own cup—A dandy thing with intricate designs painted on it’s face.

“Ah, just a couple weeks,” Alec scratches at his nose, still in aw on how it still feels like he’s known Magnus for the entirety of his life—As if they’ve always been destined to cross paths, by kismet, or destiny or any other of those bullshit fantasies.

“You like him,” Kimiko notes, no room for preamble or beating around the bush. An attribute they have in common.

“Yeah—Yeah I do, I like him a lot—Like more than pretty much anyone or anything.” It feels safe, secure admitting the levity of his feelings towards Magnus—In a whole other world from all their woes and fear back home. He likes this little village—Their slice of paradise—It’s untarnished from all the shit storming around their lives.

“But you’re afraid to tell him,” she doesn’t ask, she just knows. And Alec is pretty tempted to ask for her Warlock Mark if she were not so old in mortal standards. (Warlocks almost always stop the aging process before their 30th birthday.) 

“I am not stupid Alec,” she chides. “You remind me much of my husband you know. He was very cautious with his tongue too, back when he first started courting me.”

Alec does not laugh at her usage of courting—He absolutely DOES NOT! (And even if he does, Alec definitely covers it up well enough with a manic smile.)

“Oh yeah, and how’d you figure out his feelings for you?”

“Easy,” she scoffs before pulling out a velvet box from the wall alined with dozens identical to it. “He gave me this.”

Alec catches it effortlessly, pulling off the lid to find a lovely clothe on the inside. One embroidered with a beautiful print. He tells Kimiko as much.

“It’s meant to ward off bad spirits, and is given to those whom we care for very deeply.”

He looks up to meet her gaze, a knowing glint in her soft brown pools—And it’s the first time that Alec considers that her husband is not around anymore. That realization brings with it an ugly plunge of the stomach, and a fierce sadness.

“Thank you Kimiko,” he says softly, earnestly.

“You should be on your way, your date should be here by now.” The grin she gives him in return is etched with an innate sort of exhaustion, and Alec wonders how long Kimiko’s husband has gone—Leaving her alone with only this dusty, little shop for company. And Alec swears to come back soon, stocking shelves and having tea with the nice old lady who helped him even though she never needed to.

She tells him that the gift is free of charge, “Consider it payment for helping me with closing up shop.”

Alec leaves a crisp $100 note in the tip jar. “I’m contrary like that,” he leers before strolling out.

 

***

 

Magnus is already waiting by the small pond when Alec get’s there—Arms splayed across the benches, and the moonlight gently tracing his handsome face. The air gets caught in Alec’s throat when a new wave of appreciating how fucking etherial his boyfriend is washes over him.

“There you are,” Magnus perks up. “I started to think you ran off with a local.”

“I kinda did,” Alec admits bashfully. “Her name was Kimiko and about 60 years old,” he elaborates before Magnus could get any weird ideas.

“Sounds like I’ve got some stiff competition,” he teases. “Now come on, I think we were in the midst of discussing fish body shaming.”

“Yeah—Yeah we were,” Alec takes Magnus’s strong hand, and they walk through the threshold of the portal to Magnus’s loft, so to continue this part of this date on more comfortable surfaces—Like preferably a bed.

**Author's Note:**

> I was gonna extend this to the sex scene...But then I got sad when I watched what we got--And I just didn't wanna touch it with a 10 ftoot pole...Maybe one day I'll try to fix it. But here, have this fluff for now. 
> 
> Let me know what you thought maybe?
> 
> Or [Send Me A Fake Prompt Yourself](http://ishtarinthesky.tumblr.com/ask)


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